The Great State Debate

Some states can be a difficult to get logged for many reasons, not just including distance, terrain, size, population density, and where you are located. Which are being the most troublesome for you? Maybe you are a big boy station or a very long time radio user and have worked them all many times, if so which do you have logged the least? If you only SWL the bands, which do you not hear or hear the least?

Most of our CT profiles show where we are located, but if yours does not do let know in your replies roughly where you are located, along with the radio platforms you use, as can make huge difference to the meaning of your reply. E.g. one of my nemesis states is South Dakota, I have only heard one station there on the ham bands since getting licenced and as far as I can see have no record of an 11m contact with anyone there ever. But if you live in that state or a nearby one, you might talk to people there every day.

Wonder if we will all come to the same conclusion for the hardest state to log...

New Mexico was a hard one for me to get took me 18 months to get a station there that confirmed.
Still only the one contact there and that was K5TA on 10m ft8 back in June.
A m8 not far from me is still trying for Hawaii yet i have 14 contacts there.
Strange how it works.

Well done with your 14 with Hawaii Alan. Just like your friend, I still don't have one with there yet, but have heard a couple.

I only have one ham contact to New Mexico too, K5HJA. 10m FT4, January this year, so that was 17 months for me. Pretty similar. Well we know there's at least 2 ham stations in that state

Anyone had any CB contacts into New Mexico state?

Alaska and Hawaii are claimed to be the two most difficult...yet I have both whilst still lacking 15 or so others.

Alaska is a big jump for you Jeff.
Had 61 contacts there but only 6 of them confirmed.
Hate it when you get some ware and they don't confirm.

Alan Pilot wrote:

Alaska is a big jump for you Jeff.
Had 61 contacts there but only 6 of them confirmed.
Hate it when you get some ware and they don't confirm.

Yes, only got that one ft8, not SSB.

With confirmations, I found the biggest difference i made was joining LOTW.  My confirmation rate jumped substantially, especially with our American friends.  I just link it into Log4OM and QRZ.com and have it all auto-update.

Had nova scota, and Mexico City on 27.505 usb (CB)
But struggle with the rest of USA at the moment as to many drown out my low power but I'll keep trying

peewee norfolk wrote:

Had nova scota, and Mexico City on 27.505 usb (CB)
But struggle with the rest of USA at the moment as to many drown out my low power but I'll keep trying

Well done on those contacts. You've made it to Nova Scotia and so it's only a matter of time I am sure before you hit the relatively close by US states to it. Keep at it, don't need a lot of power when the conditions align

Jeff, had a play with Google Earth line measuring, was quite interesting seeing the distances between parts of Australia and the US. I had in my mind the two countries were generally closer than they actually were. I only have two contacts into Alaska and both using digital, one FT8 and one FT4.. Alan, you've done amazing in such a relatively short time to get that many!

With my indoor antenna the States is quite difficult for me, although most are East coast I have had one West coast.

Same here Mark my friend, but without our indoor antennas what would the alternative be?

You ought to be congratulating yourself on how much you achieve with it.  
(I know I do with mine!)

Worth waiting it out as I'd only got East coast stuff but then bagged Texas & Oklahoma one after the other more recently and both QRZ confirmed. I have had as far as Washington on the West coast but no confirmation came forth, then again you will eventually run across someone using QRZ. (Florida is my most common contact but not one single confirmation as of yet!)

Stick with it mate and more importantly, enjoy yourself.

Victor wrote:

I have had as far as Washington on the West coast but no confirmation came forth, then again you will eventually run across someone using QRZ. (Florida is my most common contact but not one single confirmation as of yet!)

If you don’t already, signup for LOTW.  My confirmation rate on QRZ almost doubled when I did, and QRZ counts those confirmations for their awards too.

I heard a operator today say "mother nature has her long skirt on but she may give you a little peak if you play your cards right" which made me laugh...
California has been difficult for me over the last 30 years with only one contact made,yet Alaska long path using my Yagi has been achieved a few times...

I remember a guy and his wife using a 16 element long boom antenna on a 60 ft mast working the world but still needing mother nature's help.

If it was too easy where is the fun...

Ha! Ha!

Haven't heard that expression in years Sam! 
"Showing her cleavage" was one for when the skip was really rolling in grabbing everyone's attention.

I agree wholeheartedly with you, if it was easy it wouldn't be half as much fun.

Have worked all states apart from
Delaware
Oregon
South Dakota
Wyoming

Unconfirmed
Alabama
Colorado
Idaho
Kansas
New Mexico

As Sam detailed in the 11m conditions discussion, the upper HF bands were great for for the US yesterday. Only caught the tail end though as I was out busy for most of the day. Really pleased to get my first South Dakota in the log, that was K0SSD on 10m FT8 using the indoor delta loop and 10w.

That's 47 out 50 worked and confirmed now. Ones left are Hawaii (already mention in another post), Wyoming (as you Mike), and Nevada (which I tried for a good time yesterday, and failed). So going by who I have heard on air even if I haven't worked them, Wyoming is currently the hardest one for me. Anyone worked that one, and if so how many times?

Mark 13oots2, very well done on your US contacts with your indoor antenna. Keep at it. If you are on the right band at the right time when conditions are optimal, you will work more states. Promise.

Seems I have Idaho, Alabama and Kansas confirmed on LOTW but not in QRZ.
So only two unconfirmed of those worked.

Did not have a WAS account in LOTW but now set up.

Wyoming is the least populated state, may be that is why it is more difficult.

Sorry again Neal.
Wyoming 
1 time on 30m confirmed.
1 time on 17. confirmed.
2 times on 70cm DMR confirmed but i don't count them.
And none on any other band at all.

Around the solar storm blackout at the beginning of the month I was surprised to manage my first contact with Hawaii, KH6CW on 17m FT8... there were still propagation paths open here and there. They confirmed a couple of days later, and was the last confirmation I needed to get the USA 50 award on QRZ, so very pleased.

Whilst this one took the longest, and not surprising being the furthest from me, after a check through my stats I am still putting Wyoming as the hardest for me currently as I only have one QSO there too but have not been hearing any more, whilst at least with Hawaii I do hear other stations from there. Other KH6s have been popping up that are not in that State, some are obvious like KH6XX/W0, but some have been running just their straight callsign with no /suffix, so maybe I am not hearing quite as many Hawaii as I first thought.

Now got OR worked and confirmed on 17metres.

Coyote wrote:

FT4, FT8, 7 meters, 70cm, bah, let me know when you get all the States including Alaska and Hawaii, plus Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Porto Rica, and Canada on 11 meters (the CB frequencys) AM and Side-band only, then we will have something to talk about. Lol, just joking, i love radio. 

That would be a pretty impressive range of contacts for anyone to achieve on 11m from anywhere in the world Brian, but I wouldn't put it past a few members here to have done it. Have you, by chance? From where you are in California, which states for you are the most elusive?

Coyote wrote:

FT4, FT8, 7 meters, 70cm, bah, let me know when you get all the States including Alaska and Hawaii, plus Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Porto Rica, and Canada on 11 meters (the CB frequencys) AM and Side-band only, then we will have something to talk about. Lol, just joking, i love radio. 

It is not that easy on the digital modes, I can tell you it is not for some of us.
Many have poor locations and compromised gear so digital modes can give a bit of an edge.

Myself, a location surrounded by hills, small low in height antennas and relative low power, no more than 100watts.

I have worked a few of the countries mentioned, on 10metres, this was back when I got the full call around 2003.
SSB with an Elecraft K2 and 10watts to a cobweb, not easy but I have done all the shouting I want to do on SSB.

BTW, one of my objectives is to work all states on the lower bands, especially on 80metres.

SangueG wrote:

Coyote wrote:

FT4, FT8, 7 meters, 70cm, bah, let me know when you get all the States including Alaska and Hawaii, plus Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Porto Rica, and Canada on 11 meters (the CB frequencys) AM and Side-band only, then we will have something to talk about. Lol, just joking, i love radio. 

That would be a pretty impressive range of contacts for anyone to achieve on 11m from anywhere in the world Brian, but I wouldn't put it past a few members here to have done it. Have you, by chance? From where you are in California, which states for you are the most elusive?

I have gotten all the U.S except Delaware and Rhode Island and also got the other countries that i mentioned on a Ranger 2950, on SSB,(27.375 27.385 and 27.395 LSB), a Mirage M75 amp (100 watts) and a Antron 99, it took me about 10 years and a whole bunch of yelling CQ CQ DX to do it, lots of trying, lots of luck and loads of fun.

Ivy Mike wrote:

Coyote wrote:

FT4, FT8, 7 meters, 70cm, bah, let me know when you get all the States including Alaska and Hawaii, plus Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Porto Rica, and Canada on 11 meters (the CB frequencys) AM and Side-band only, then we will have something to talk about. Lol, just joking, i love radio. 

It is not that easy on the digital modes, I can tell you it is not for some of us.
Many have poor locations and compromised gear so digital modes can give a bit of an edge.

Myself, a location surrounded by hills, small low in height antennas and relative low power, no more than 100watts.

I have worked a few of the countries mentioned, on 10metres, this was back when I got the full call around 2003.
SSB with an Elecraft K2 and 10watts to a cobweb, not easy but I have done all the shouting I want to do on SSB.

BTW, one of my objectives is to work all states on the lower bands, especially on 80metres.

I also run no more than a 100 watts on AM and Side-Band,(LSB 27.375,  27.385, and 27.395, AM 27.185 and 27.285) using a Ranger 2950, Mirage M75 (100  watts amp) and a Antron 99, but i'm in a real good location (out in the middle of the Mohave Desert) nothing around me to interfere with my signal, and nothing that stops me from putting my antenna as high as i want even though its only up 24 feet (from the ground to the base of the Antenna).

I live in Kentucky and the hardest states are the ones closest to me, such as Tennessee and Virginia. Too close for local and not far away enough for skip.